The effect of environmental dynamism on returns to inventory leanness

This paper adds to the empirical inventory management literature by examining the moderating effects of environmental dynamism on the relationship between inventory leanness and financial performance. While the financial implications of inventory management practices have been extensively studied in the literature, it is clear that lean inventory strategies may not have the same payoff for all firms in all industries. Grounded in inventory theory, this study explores how firm characteristics and environmental dynamism—measured in terms of innovative intensity, demand uncertainty and competitive intensity—moderate the inventory leanness–performance link. We use hierarchical linear modeling to analyze a data set of 5749 firm-year observations from 123 U.S. manufacturing industries. In line with the hypotheses set forth, the results indicate that innovative intensity in an industry increases the effect of inventory leanness on firm performance while competitive intensity has the opposite effect. The hypothesis with respect to the moderating role of demand uncertainty is not supported. Another interesting and important finding is that inventory leanness accounts for nearly one third of the variation in firm performance after controlling for firm size and growth, thus underlining the importance of efficient and effective inventory management for overall firm success.     

Effects of HRM practices,lean production practices and lean duration on performance

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the structural relationships between HRM practices, lean production practices, operational performance and firm performance of manufacturing firms that have implemented lean production. The data were collected from the firms operating in Sri Lanka, which fulfilled the selection criteria set for the study. Statistical techniques were used to test the hypothesized relationships. It was found that lean production practices and operational performance mediate the relationship between HRM practices and firm performance; lean duration moderates the relationship between HRM practices and lean production practices in such a way that the longer the duration, the greater would be the adoption of lean production practices. The essential contribution of the findings lie in presenting empirical data valuable for the advancement of research in HRM as well as for making decisions on people management when implementing advanced manufacturing technologies.     

The contingency effects of environmental uncertainty on the relationship between supply chain integration and operational performance

This paper extends prior supply chain research by building and empirically testing a theoretical model of the contingency effects of environmental uncertainty (EU) on the relationships between three dimensions of supply chain integration and four dimensions of operational performance. Based on the contingency and organizational information processing theories, we argue that under a high EU, the associations between supplier/customer integration, and delivery and flexibility performance, and those between internal integration, and product quality and production cost, will be strengthened. These theoretical propositions are largely confirmed by multi-group and structural path analyses of survey responses collected from 151 of Thailand's automotive manufacturing plants. This paper contributes to operations management contingency research and provides theory-driven and empirically proven explanations for managers to differentiate the effects of internal and external integration efforts under different environmental conditions.     

The moderating effect of social capital and environmental dynamism on the link between entrepreneurial orientation and resource acquisition

This study attempts to define the four constructs identified in the title and examine patterns of interaction among them. It begins by demonstrating that entrepreneurial orientation influences resource acquisition. It then puts forward a set of parameters to assess the degree to which two factors identified as social capital and environmental dynamism affect an entrepreneurial orientation resource acquisition equation. The study finds that there are relationships between all four of the constructs, but in three propositions developed in the course of discussion it puts forward issues that may be clarified by future research, which from various angles could show how entrepreneurially oriented firms react differently from more established firms in terms of their acquisition of resources and interaction with social capital and environmental dynamism.     

Interrelationships among lean bundles and their effects on operational performance

The aim of our research is to disentangle the complex relations among lean bundles and operational performance. In particular, we focus on the direct and mediating effects on operational performance of three of the main lean manufacturing bundles, namely Just in Time (JIT), Total Quality Management (TQM) and Human Resource Management (HRM). We run statistical analysis on the High Performance Manufacturing round III database, a survey involving 266 plants in nine countries across three different industries. Our results show that JIT and TQM have a direct and positive effect on operational performance while HRM has a mediated effect on it. Theoretical and managerial implications of our findings are then drawn and discussed.     

Toward a theory of competencies for the management of product complexity: Six case studies

Business units in six Fortune 500 companies were studied to develop better understanding regarding drivers of product portfolio complexity and the means to manage them. Our research focuses on identifying important competencies for managing product portfolio complexity and on the development of appropriate theoretical explanations. We found three important competencies: product/technology portfolio strategy, organization and governance regarding complexity decisions, and product design and decision support systems. We explicate these competencies using a socio-technical systems theoretical perspective. Our findings provide the basis for a model describing the impact of complexity and complexity management on business unit profitability.     

Diffusion of environmental business practices: A network approach

The purpose of this research is to build a conceptual foundation that examines network effects on the diffusion of environmental business practices (EBP) among suppliers. This research extends a network perspective to adoption of an environmental business practice across a large network of suppliers. The context of EBP is used to better understand adoption of a complex business practice, with perceived costs that are often greater than the perceived benefit. Variation in the level of structural and relationship embeddedness affect network diffusion of environmental business practices differently. Increased levels of structural and relational embeddedness are proposed to be positively associated with diffusion of EBP. From a practical standpoint, firms that leverage embeddedness may facilitate higher diffusion and adoption of environmental business practices. This facilitation may lead network actors to engage in EBP, and leverage benefits that may stem from these practices. This research introduces the concept of embeddedness to the environmental supply chain literature. Practicing managers can use the findings in this research to better position themselves within a network to diffuse EBP. This research also helps managers understand how supply chain members that are weakly connected to the primary network are important for introducing new ideas and innovations.     

Process quality improvement: An examination of general vs. outcome-specific climate and practices in hospitals

Despite numerous efforts to foster quality improvement in healthcare, much of the extant data and research indicate that substantial shortcomings in the delivery of effective and reliable care remain. This research examines both general and outcome-specific operations management efforts and their impact on delivering quality healthcare. We empirically test a conceptual framework of safety culture that accounts for the use of general quality practices as well as outcome-specific approaches in light of the general and more focused climates in which those practices are embedded. We utilize structural equation modeling to analyze a unique pairing of primary data from a survey of quality improvement directors and chief nursing officers at 272 hospitals across the U.S. with secondary data on process of care performance publicly reported by the federal government's Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). General safety climate and quality practices are found to establish an environment in which outcome-specific efforts enable process quality improvement. A split-group SEM analysis highlights significant differences in managing healthcare safety outcomes through climate and practices. In particular, the employment of practices focused on the specific outcome goals is found to relate to higher quality of patient care in smaller hospitals. In contrast, the development of a climate focused on specific outcome goals is found to relate to higher quality of patient care in larger hospitals. These findings suggest alternative approaches for small and large hospitals in the critical effort to improve patient safety and reduce healthcare costs.     

Family ownership and environmental performance: The mediation effect of human resource practices

Previous literature has found that listed family firms underperform their nonfamily counterparts in terms of environmental performance, but has not explained why this occurs. We address this research gap by hypothesizing that training and development practices (i.e., managerial practices devoted to providing training and development for the workforce) mediate the relationship between family blockholders and environmental performance. Using a sample of 33,901 firm‐year observations from 2002 to 2016 distributed across 56 countries and employing the structural equation model technique, we find that investment in training and development practices explains almost half of the negative relationship between family blockholders and environmental performance. Our study contributes to the agency theory debate on principal–principal problems by explaining why family blockholders could damage other blockholders and minority shareholders.     

Reconceptualizing the effects of lean on production costs with evidence from the F-22 program

A central tenet in the theory of lean production is that the implementation of lean practices will reduce waste and thereby decrease costs. However, not all lean implementations have produced such results. Apparently, this effect is moderated by several factors, potentially even to the point of reversal. It is important to increase our understanding of how this might occur. In this paper, we explore how novelty, complexity, instability, and buffering affect the relationship between lean implementation and production costs. An interest in these factors drew us to study the case of Lockheed Martin's production system for the F-22, an extremely complex and innovative product. To build theory, we synthesize our empirical data from the case with other existing theory, such as theories of learning and complexity. Through this analysis, we develop a revised framework that reconceptualizes the effect of lean on production costs and use it to develop 11 propositions to direct further research. Included among these are propositions about how the timing, scale, and extent of lean implementation can regulate the benefits of lean. Furthermore, when the objective of lean is construed as the provision of value, we propose that this value is an emergent property of a complex process, different from the mere sum of the values provided by its constituent tasks. Therefore, the elimination of tasks will not guarantee cost reduction, and lean may provide even greater value by incorporating some aspects of agile manufacturing. Overall, we develop a fuller range of the effects of lean practices on production costs and illuminate how operations managers might control key variables to draw greater benefits from lean implementation.     

Uniting partners to cope with environmental uncertainty: Disentangling the role of social capital in developing supply chain agility

Based on social capital theory, in this study, we investigate how a firm utilized social capital to coordinate partners in the achievement of supply chain agility under different levels of environmental uncertainty. We test the proposed hypotheses via a hierarchical regression analysis using questionnaire survey data collected from 190 firms in China. The empirical results show that cognitive, relational, and structural capital positively influence supply chain agility. Furthermore, environmental uncertainty positively moderates the positive relationship between relational capital and supply chain agility, whereas environmental uncertainty negatively moderates the positive roles of cognitive and structural capital. The findings suggest managers should adopt different strategies when leveraging social capital according to the business environment. In unpredictable and volatile business environments, managers should motivate their firms to embrace relational capital to obtain sufficient resources for achieving supply chain agility.     

Open search strategies and firm performance: The different moderating role of technological environmental dynamism

Mainly driven by the rapid progress of the ‘open innovation’ paradigm, previous research has devoted considerable efforts in investigating how the degree of openness to external knowledge influences firms׳ innovation performance. However, much less is known about its impact on performance at the firm level. Moreover, the question of which open search strategy is more suitable depending on environmental features is unresolved. We focus on breadth and depth as two distinct open search strategies and claim that, besides their different benefits in terms of learning and innovation, it is also necessary to consider their costs. Based on survey data of 248 high-technology manufacturing Spanish firms, this study extends recent research about the context dependency of openness effectiveness by showing that the effect of these two open search strategies on perceived firm performance is contingent with technological environmental dynamism in a reverse fashion. While search breadth is found to be positively associated with performance in less technologically dynamic environments, it seems to hurt performance in more dynamic contexts. On the contrary, while search depth is found to have a positive effect on performance in highly technologically dynamic environments, it appears to harm firm performance in more stable contexts.     

Work intensification and employee involvement in lean production: new light on a classic dilemma

Abstract

This paper contributes to the literature on lean production by exploring whether and how the involvement of employees in continuous improvement and their work outcomes are jeopardized by the intensification in the work pace that stems from the elimination of non-value added activities. The research setting is the application of a lean production system, World Class Manufacturing, to 24 Italian plants of a global carmaker. The research has found that work intensification limits employee involvement in continuous improvement, and plays a crucial role in enabling employees to experience higher personal efficacy, better work performance and higher employee satisfaction. However, worker intensification does not have a direct negative impact on employees’ satisfaction about their working condition. A supportive team environment and a mature implementation of lean production at a plant level mitigate the tension between employee involvement and intensification of the work pace. Two main implications of these findings have emerged. Ambivalence in lean production is a temporary response of the workforce that can gradually diminish when the plant reaches a systemic level of application of lean organization principles. In order to diminish the coercive function of lean production, managers should apply tools and practices that require more employee involvement and a supportive team environment.     

Effects of control on the performance of information systems projects: The moderating role of complexity risk

Control of projects is a core issue for organizations. Successful projects, such as information systems projects, enable organizations to develop a superior supply network and enhance the capability of operations management. A few studies have investigated the effects of control on project performance; however, complexity risk has not been integrated into the relationship between control and performance. Limited evidence has been provided concerning whether modes of control differ in their effectiveness in the presence of a single risk factor. Based on quantitative data obtained from 128 information systems projects, behavior, outcome, clan, and self-control are empirically determined to be positively associated with the system performance of projects. However, complexity risk generates a mixed moderating effect on the relationship between control and performance. In the presence of a high complexity risk, the effects of behavior and self-control on performance are low, whereas the effectiveness of outcome and clan control increases. This finding implies that complexity risk is a double-edged sword with regard to control. Each control mode exhibits different characteristics and effectiveness under high complexity risk. Therefore, appropriate control modes should be carefully selected, and highly effective control modes, such as outcome and clan control, should be prioritized in managing complex system projects.     

The political economy of environmental and social security policies: the role of environmental lobbying

Social security provides retirement benefits to the old at the expense of the working young, while environmental investment benefits the future of the young at the expense of the old. This paper presents a model incorporating this intergenerational conflict on public spending and considers the political determination of environmental investment and social security by focusing on the Markovian political equilibria. It is shown that (1) the political equilibria are generally inefficient, and (2) the introduction of environmental lobbying into politics may improve environmental quality but degrade lifetime utility in the long run.      

Drivers and barriers to environmental supply chain management practices: Lessons from the public and private sectors

This study explores the factors that drive or hinder organisations to implement green supply chain management initiatives. A literature review identifies the main categories of internal and external drivers of green supply chain management practices, including organisational factors, regulation, customers, competitors and society, but there is little indication of suppliers as drivers for green supply chain management. Internal barriers include cost and lack of legitimacy, whereas external barriers include regulation, poor supplier commitment and industry specific barriers. An explorative study is conducted based on interviews from seven different private and public sector organisations. Encouragingly, across the organisations, more drivers than barriers to environmental supply chain management are identified. Organisations seem to be more influenced by external rather than internal drivers. The barriers to environmental supply chain management experienced by organisations tend to be both internal and external.     

The effect of environmental regulation on environmental innovation

Environmental expenditure estimates resulting from US environmental policy are based on current technology which may overstate policy's true costs. Existing evidence shows that ex ante cost estimates are greater than realized costs due to unexpected technological progress. This research programme asks whether innovation is a response to environmental regulation or whether the true regulatory compliance costs are overestimated ex ante when technological advancement is ignored? The author conducts an empirical study of the US manufacturing industry's environmental patent activities and environmental regulation as measured by pollution abatement and control expenditure (PACE) data. She finds a statistically significant positive relationship between environmental regulation and innovation when estimated by ordinary least squares (OLS). However, the OLS coefficient of pollution abatement costs is inconsistent because of a correlation between the explanatory variable and unobservable variables. Two-staged least squares addresses the inconsistency problem, resulting in positive and significant PACE coefficients. Thus, there is evidence that innovation is a response to environmental regulation. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

公路环境保护与环境影响评价

文中对公路建设环境保护作了比较深入地分析与探讨,总结归纳了公路施工、营运期环境保护工作的重点与措施,对环境影响评价制度与方法进行了全面阐述,并指出我国公路建设今后的发展方向.